Shoe and method of shoemaking



' Sept. 29, 1936. w 5T 2,055,478

SHOE AND METHOD'OF SHOEMAKING Filed March 12, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 29, 1936. I w BR|$TER 2,055,478

SHOE AND METHOD OF SHOEMAKING Filed March 12, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 29, 1936 siren STATES arsnr OFFICE 2,055,478 SHOE AND METHOD OF SHOEMAKING William Brister, Columbus, Ohio; assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 12, 1935, Serial No. 10,668

14 Claims.

herein with special reference to shoes of the type in which the tread sole is secured by means of adhesive to the upper.

In the manufacture of shoes, and mo 1'8 particularly in the manufacture of womens shoes, it is highly desirable to have the shoe bottoms flexible in the vicinity of the break line between the shank and the forepart so that the shoe will readily accommodate itself to the movements of the bones and muscles of the foot as the latter is flexed in the act of walking. It is well recognized that such results are obtained to a marked degree in turn shoes where only a single sole is employed and that such results are approximated in certain types of shoes having wherein the latter have been especially treated to render the insole-outsole combination more insoles flexible as, for example, by skeletonizing the foreparts of the insoles.

The present invention is concerned with animproved method of shoemaking, among the advantages of which is the production of shoes having flexible foreparts.

To the accomplishment of this result there has been provided a shoe of novel construction having no insole or insole member of any sort in its forepart and having a cured by cement directly of the shoe upper. As

tread sole which is seto the overlasted margins herein exemplified, also,

the improved method involves the lasting of upper materials, including an upper lining, over a last in its forepart the bottom of which is either bare or has only a thin protective sheet of p like material temporarily positioned thereon and use between the overlasted margins of the upper and the upper lining in the forepart of the shoe of one or more strips, tapes, or rand-like pieces of material adapted to produce or to be the application the converted into cement upon aper or thereto of a softener or solvent so as to secure the margins of the upper and the lining together.

The cement producing material may be pyroxylin or a pyroxylin or colloid treated or impregor impregnated with an ester of cellulose, for example,

ellulose nitrate or cellulose acetate. ple of a satisfactory impregnated fabric sort is that known commercially as and disclosed in United States Letters An examof this Celastic Patent No. 1,256,240, granted February 12, 1918, upon an application of Stanley P. Lovell. An example of another fabric suitable for the above purpose is one at least some of the threads or str ands of which are composed of a readily soluble cellulose derivative such as that known to the trade as Celanese fabric. In the shank and heel portions of the shoe the margins of the upper materials are overlasted upon a short insole member or reinforcing piece disposed upon the heel and shank portions of the last and are permanently secured thereto in any usual or desired manner. The space between the overlasted upper margins in the forepart of the shoe having been filled, for example, by means of a felt filler piece, a tread sole is laid and cement attached to the margins of the upper. The thin protective piece on the forepart of the last bottom serves to prevent the overlasted margins of the upper materials from sticking to the last, this sheet being removed and discarded after the last has been pulled. A sock lining may be inserted in the shoe for the purpose of finishing the interior of the shoe bottom. By securing together the overlasted margins of' the upper materials as above described it has been found that they will stay in place on the last both before and after the tread sole has been attached despite the fact'that they have not been secured to an insole in the forepart of the shoe. The use of dry cement producing material acted upon by a solvent for the purpose of thereby producing cement for permanently securing the margins of the upper materials in overlasted relation is more cleanly than the use of cement in liquid form. Moreover, the absence of any insole or equivalent member in the forepart of the shoe insures the desired flexibility of the shoe bottom in the ball portion of the shoe.

It will be recognized that invention resides also in a shoe resulting from the practice of my improved method and comprising, as herein i1- lustrated, a tread sole, an insole member in the heel and shank portions only of the shoe, an upper having an inturned margin secured directly to the treadsole in the forepart of the shoe and to said insole member in the heel and shank portion of the shoe,.an upper lining having an inturned marginal portion interposed, to gether with said inturned marginal portion of the upper, between the tread sole and said insole member in the heel and shank portions of the shoe, and stiffening material interposed between and secured by means of cement to the inturned portion only of the upper and to-a corresponding portion only of the upper lining in the forepart of. the shoe.

, The invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the upper materials of a shoe as they appear after having been assembled with a heel and shank reinforcing piece on a last;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the assembled shoe upper materials on the last showing how the upper lining is temporarily held in overlasted relation upon the last bottom in the forepart of the shoe;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating particularly the application to the overlasted margin of the upper lining of a strip of cement producing material for use in securing together the margins of the upper and the lining;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a piece of cement producing material of 'a modified form;

Figs. 6 and '7 are perspective views of the shoe illustrating further steps in the operation of lastingthe upper;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional 'view of the forepart of the shoe as it appears after the tread sole has been attached; and

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the forepart of the completed shoe.

In the'practice of my improved method, as herein exemplified, I employ upper materials comprising an upper l2, a lining I 4, a doubler it (see Fig. 4), a counter stiffener l8, and a toe stiffener 20 (see Fig. 3). Conveniently the lining I4 is cut full around the forepart so as to project a substantial amount beyond the edge of the upper, as indicated at 22 in Fig. 1. The doubler I6, if present, is preferably cut scant in the forepart so that after the upper materials have been assembled on the last the doubler will extend only approximately to the edge of the last bottom without substantially overlapping the latter, as indicatedin Fig. 4. The various parts above mentioned, with the exception of the toe stiffener, are assembled and secured together in the usual manner before being placed upon the last L, the toe stiffener being put in place at a later stage in the operations, as will hereinafter appear. Beforethe upper materials are applied to the last a short insole member or heel-and-shank piece 24 of leather, fiber or other suitable material is placed upon the heel and shank portions'of the last bottom and secured thereto by means, for example, of tacks 25. No insole member of any sort is applied to the forepart of the last bottom, the latter being left bare or, if desired, it may be covered, as herein'illustrated, by a protective piece 25 (Fig. 4) of thin sheet material, such as paper, the latter being employed to prevent the cement used in the lasting operations from sticking any portions of the shoe upper materials to the last. The upper materials after being assembled upon the last and secured in place temporarily, by means of tacks 21' at the heel end, maybe worked over the last in any-suitable manner. As herein disclosed for illustrative purposes, the upper materials are pulled over at the forepart of the last and temporarily secured to the last bottom by the usual pulling-over tacks 28 (Figs. 1 and 2). Advantageously, the lining I4 is then tensioned over the last in the vicinity of the ball line, for example by means of hand pliers, and secured in tensioned condition by means of two upstanding tacks 30 (Fig. 2) which are driven through the lining near its edge and thus are spaced inwardly a substantial distance from the edge of the last bottom'so as not to interfere with the subsequent lasting of the forepart of the upper. Preferably the lining is thereafter tensioned in the vicinity of the tip line and at the tip of the toe and three tacks 32 are driven through the lining only, one of these tacks being located at the toe and the others in the vicinity of the tip line. In order to remove any puckers from the overlasted margin of the forepart of the lining so that the latter will lie smoothly against the bottom of the last in condition to receive the strip of material employed for securing the upper in overlasted condition, a cord or wire 3 may conveniently be made fast to one of the lining tacks 39 and utilized progressively to wipe inwardly the margins of the lining, the cord being twisted around each lining tack 32 in succession and finally being secured to the other lining tack 39, and these tacks, together with the cord or wire 34, remaining in place until the lasting operations have been completed.

Afterthe forepart of the lining has been lasted as described, the pulling-over tacks are removed, a moistened toe stiffener 22 is inserted between the upper and the lining, and, as herein shown, a narrow strip or rand-like member 36 of cement producing material, for example cotton flannel impregnated with cellulose nitrate, is laid along the lasting margin of the upper, the strip extending around the forepart outside of the lasting tacks 3i) and the rear extremities of the strip overlying the forward end portion of the heeland-shank piece 24. Instead of using a single strip 36 two or more strips may be employed, for example, one strip at each side of the forepart, the two strips substantially meeting or even overlapping at the toe and thus avoiding any difiiculties incident to the bending of a single strip in laying it around the toe. As shown, another strip 38 is laid across the forward end portion of the heel-and-shank piece 24 with its opposite ends overlapping the rear ends of the strip 3%. Instead of applying the cement producing material in the form of strips it may advantageously be died out or otherwise formed as a single skeleton or frame piece 39 (Fig. 5), having an outline corresponding to that of the forepart of the last bottom. 7 7 After having applied the strips or skeleton piece of cement producing material, and preferably be-- fore the latter has been subjected to the action of a solvent or softener, the upper i2 is tensioned with hand pliers at the tip line where two tacks 40 (Fig. 6) are driven to hold it in place and at the ball line where two tacks 32 are driven to hold it in place. The strips of cement producing material are dry at this time. The upper is then lasted inthe shank portion of the shoe with pyroxylin cement and temporarily held by means of upstanding tacks 44 (Fig. 6). Next, the opposite sides of the fcrepart of the upper are lasted, a softener for the cement producing material being applied between the strip 36 and the upper as the lasting progresses and the margins of the upper being temporarily held in place by means of upstanding tacks 44. The heel seat and the toe portions of the upper are next lasted, the heel seat portion being lasted with tacks 46 the points of which are clenched against the inside of the shank piece 24 by means of the heel plate on the last and the toe portion being lasted with the softener for the cement producing material and temporarily held in place by means of an upper retaining member or toe plate 48 (Fig. '7) such, for example, as that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,894,67 8, granted J anuary 17, 1933, upon application of J. Fausse. The

strip 36 of cement producing material is converted into or is caused'to produce cement by the action of the softener. After this cement has become set, the upper materials are trimmed around the forepart of the shoe, as illustrated in Fig.- '7, the upstanding lasting tacks, including ta'cks Q2 and M, are pulled, the toe plate d8 is removed, a metal shank stiffener 50 is applied and, if a flat bottom last is employed, a filler piece 52 of felt or other suitable material may be employed to fill the space between the overlasted margins of the upper materials. The margins of the upper and the lining are not only firmly bonded together but they are permanently retained in overlasted relation without being secured toan insole. Moreover, if-an impregnated fabric strip is employed as the cement producing medium the fabric serves to stiffen the overlasted margins of the upper and lining sufficiently to prevent them from pulling away from the sole. Thereafter, as herein illustrated, an outsole 54 (Figs. 8 and 9) is attached by means of cement to the overlasted margin of the upper by the use of a suitable soleattaching press, the sole and the upper margin having first been roughened in the usual manner to facilitate the formation of a satisfactory bond between them. Next, the last L is pulled and, if a protective piece such as the sheet of paper 25 was employed upon the forepart of the last bottom, that sheet(which will be left sticking to the inside of the shoe) is removed and discarded. Finally, a'sock lining 56 (Fig. 9) is applied to the interior of the shoe.

In the shoe thusproduced, the overlasted margins of the upper and the upper lining, being secured to each other and to the tread sole in the forepart of the shoe by means of cement, they will be permanently retained in place and held in a desired close relation to the sole notwithstanding the fact that there is no insole in that portion of the shoe. The absence of any insole or equivalent member in the forepart of the shoe insures that the shoe will flex freely to accommodate the natural movements of the foot in Walking, the shoe being even more flexible and comfortable than one having an insole with a skeletonized forepart.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentof the United States is:

1. That improveme t in methods of making shoes which consists in working an upper and an upper lining'over a last having no insole member upon its forepart, applying a softening agent to solid cement producing material disposed between the overlasted portions only of the upper and the lining thereby producing cement, and securing said portions of the upper and the lining together by means of said cement.

2. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consistsin working an upper and an upper lining into conforming relation to a last having no insole upon its forepart, applying a softening medium to a strip of pyroxylin treated fabric disposed between the overlasted portions only of the upper and the lining thereby producing cement, and securing said portions of the upper and the lining together by means of said cement. 7

3. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in working an upper and an upper lining into-conforming relation to a last having no insole upon its forepart, applying a solvent to cellulose derivative material disposed between the overlasted portions only of the upper andthe lining thereby converting said material into cement, and securing said portions of the upper and the lining together by means of said cement.

4. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in working an upper and an upper lining over the sides of a last having no insole upon its forepart, laying the marginal portion of the lining in overlasted relation upon the last bottom, laying upon the overlasted margin of the lining a strip of material adapted to produce cement when acted upon by a solvent, applying a solvent to said strip, lasting the margin of the upper over said strip on the margin of the lining, and holding it in place until the cement produced by the action of the solvent has set, thereby securing the margins of the upper and the lining together in overlasted relation.

5. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in working an upper comprising an inner layer and an outer layer over a iasu and temporarily securing said inner layer of the upper in overlasted relation upon the last bottom, laying upon the overlasted margin of said inner layer of the upper a strip of material adapted to be converted into cement by the action of a solvent thereon, applying a solvent to said strip, laying the marginal portion of said outer layer of the upper over said treated strip and holding it in during the setting of the cement produced by the action of said solvent thereby securing together the overlasted margins of said inner and outer layers of the upper, and securing a tread sole to the overlasted margin of said outer layer of the upper.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in working an upper comprisan inner layer and an outer layer over a last having no insole on its forepart and temporarily securing said inner layer in overlasted relation upon the forepart of the last bottom, laying fabric impregnated with material adapted to be converted into cement by the action of a solvent thereon upon the overlasted margin of said inner layer of the upper, applying a solvent to said fabric, laying the marginal portion of said outer layer'of the upper over said treated fabric and holding it in place during the setting of the cement produced by the action of said solvent thereby securing together the overlasted margins of said inner and outer layers of the upper, and permanently securing a tread sole by cement to the overlasted margin of said outer layer of the upper.

.7. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in assembling an upper and an upper lining together with a heel and shank reinforcing piece on a last having no insole on its forepart, working the upper and the lining over the last and temporarily securing the lining only in overlasted relation upon the toe and forepart of the last bottom and temporarily securing the upper and the lining in overlasted relation to said reinforcing piece in the heel and shank portion of the shoe, laying upon the overlasted margin of the upper lining in the forepart of the shoe a strip of material adapted to produce cement when acted 7 upper lining, a doubler, and a heel-and-shank reinforcing piece on a last having no insole thereon,

the lining being-cut full in its forepart so that its lasting margin extends beyond that of the upper and the doubler being cut scant in its forepart so as to provide substantially no lasting margin, working the upper and the lining over the last and securing the lining only in overlasted relation upon the toe and forepart of the last bottom, by temporary fastenings driven through the inner edge portion of the lasting margin of the lining and into the last, temporarily securing the upper and the lining in overlasted relation to said reinforcing piece in the heel and shank portion of the shoe, laying upon the overlasted margin of the upper lining in the forepart of the shoe, at

the outer side of said temporary fastenings, a strip of material adapted to produce cement when acted upon by a softener, applying a softener to said strip, wiping the marginal portion of the forepart of the upper over said strip and allowing the cement produced by the action of the V 7 part of the last, permanently securing the upper softener upon said strip to stifien the marginal portions of the upper and the upper lining and to secure them together, permanently securing the marginal portions of the upper and lining to said reinforcing piece in the shank and heel portions of the shoe, removing said temporary fastenings from the overlasted margin of the lining in the forepart of the shoe, trimming the margins of 'the'upper materials, filling the space between the overlasted margins of the upper and lining'in the forepart, and, attaching a tread sole to the over- 7, lasted marginal portions of the upper.

9. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in securing a heel-andshank reinforcing piece to the heel and shank portions of the bottom of a last, assembling an upper andian upper lining on the last and working the upper and the lining over the last, temporarily securing the marginal portion of the lining but not of the upper to the bottom of the foreand the lining in overlasted relation upon said reinforcing piece in the heel and shank portions of the shoe, laying upon the overlasted margin of the'upper lining in the forepart of the shoe a strip of material treated with an ester of cellulose,

applying to said strip a solvent for the ester of ,55.

cellulose, overlasting the marginal portion of the forepart of the upper upon said strip and maintaining it under pressure until the cement produced by the action of the solvent has set, therebystiffening themarginal portions of the forepart of the upper and the upper lining and securing them together, applying a bottom filler to the space within the overlasted margins of the upper and the lining, and attaching an outsole to the overlasted margins of the upper.

10. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in applying a thin sheet of protective material to the bottom of the forepart of a last, securing a heel-and-shank reinforcing piece to the heel and shank portions of the last bottom, assembling an upper and an upper lining on the last, working the upper and the lining over the last, temporarily securing the marginal portion of the lining to the bottom of the forepart of the last, permanently securing the upper and the lining in overlasted relation upon said reinforcing piece in the heel and shank portions of the shoe, laying upon the overlasted margin of the upper lining in the forepart ofthe shoe a strip of material adapted to produce cement when acted upon by a softener, applying a softener to said strip, everlasting the marginal portion of the forepart of the upper upon said strip and maintaining it under pressure until the cement produced by the action of the softener upon said strip has set, thereby stifiening the marginal portions of the forepart of the upper and the upper lining and securing them together, attaching an outsole to the overlasted margins of the upper, pulling the last, removing said sheet of protective material, and inserting a sock lining.

11. A shoe comprising a tread sole, an insole member in the heel and shank portions only of the shoe, an upper having an inturn d margin secured directly to the tread sole in the forepart of the shoe and to said insole member in the heel and shank portion of the shoe, an upper lining having an inturned marginal portion interposed, together with said marginal portion of the upper, between the tread sole and said insole member in the heel and shank portions of the shoe, and stifiening material interposed between and secured by means of cement to the inturned portion only of the upper and to a corresponding portion only of the upper lining in the forepart of the shoe.

12. A shoe having no insole member in its forepart and comprising a tread sole, a heel-andshank reinforcing piece, an upper having an inturned margin secured directly to the tread sole in the forepart of the shoe and to the reinforcing piece in the heel and shank portion of the shoe, an upper lining having an inturned marginal portion interposed, together with said marginal portion of the upper, between the tread sole and said reinforcing piece in the heel and shank portions of the shoe, and a stiffening strip interposed between andsecured by means of cement to the inturned portion only of the upper and to a corresponding portion only of the upper lining in the forepart of the shoe, said strip extending around the forepart of the shoe and having its rear portions secured to said heel-and-shank reinforcing piece.'

13. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in working an upper and an upper lining over a last having noinsole member upon its forepart, applying a softening agent to a strip of solid cement-producing material disposed between the overlasted portions of the upper and the lining along the side of the forepart of the shoe thereby producing cement, and securing said portions of the upper and lining together by means of said cement.

14. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in working an upper and an upper lining into conforming relation to a last having no insole upon its forepart, applying a softening medium to a strip of pyroxylintreated fabric disposed between the overlasted portions of the upper and the lining around the forepart of the shoe thereby producing cement, and securing said portions of the upper and lining together by means of said cement.

' WILLIAM BRISTER. 

